The invention relates to a storage cassette for a disc having a centre hole, which cassette comprises a bottom section having a bottom, upright side walls, a rear wall and a front wall, and a cover which closes the bottom section at the top and which can be held in a closed position by means of a cover lock, which bottom section comprises an elastic peg arrangement which is engageable in the centre hole to retain the disc at its upper side in the central area.
Containers of this type are employed on a large scale, for example for packaging the well-known CDs (Compact Discs) or CD-ROMs (Compact Disc Read Only Memory). In the CD containers in accordance with European Patent Specification 0,086,484, to which U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,085 corresponds, the CD is supported only in its central area directly around the centre hole, and the remainder of the CD remains completely free. In this way the container guarantees an excellent protection of the CD. Another significant advantage of the prior-art container is that except for printed paper sheets it comprises only standard parts, so that the container is in principle the same, regardless of the music on the disc. This leads to a substantial cost reduction resulting from the large economies obtained by unitary mass production.
Said prior-art container in principle comprises three different parts: a plastics bottom section, a plastics cover and a plastics support for the CD arranged in the bottom section. Between the bottom section and the support and in the cover leaflets can be inserted. The bottom section as well as the cover are made of a transparent plastics, so that the leaflets are visible through the transparent plastics. In this way the CD containers, which are made of standard parts, can be individualised by the use of different leaflets. Each container has a different appearance adapted to the music on the CD. The cover lock comprises cooperating parts on the side walls of the bottom section and on the corresponding side walls of the cover. The cover does not have a front wall. The peg arrangement is situated on the plastics support. The plastics support as well as the side walls of the bottom section have recesses to enable the CD to be removed from the container. The recesses enable the edge of the CD to be held between the the fingers.
Despite its undeniable qualities and advantages the container described above also has certain drawbacks. For example, it is not obvious to everyone how the cover is to be opened. It is often attempted to open the cover at the front. However, the front wall forms part of the bottom section. To open the cassette correctly it is necessary to hold the front wall of the container with one hand and to grip the cover with the other hand and pull it upwards by its two side walls. Once this method of opening is known, opening is very simple provided that both hands are free to open the container. However, this is not always the case. For example if CDs are used in cars it is generally desirable that under any circumstances the driver holds the wheel with at least one hand. Moreover, his attention should remain focussed on the traffic and the road, so that the container is to be opened by the feel.
It is found that opening the prior art container with only one hand as well as the subsequent removal of the CD from this container may pose a problem. The cover is connected to the bottom section at two points, namely at both sides. If the cover is opened at one of the two sides this need not imply that the other side also opens. The thin plastics cover is comparatively elastic and flexible so that one side can be opened to some extent while the other side remains closed. When the cover is open, removal of the CD from the container is not always simple if only one hand is free. The frictional forces with which the central peg arrangement holds the disc in its centre may be comparatively large. It is often difficult to pull the disc off the peg arrangement, and in addition care must be taken not to lose hold of the disc.